Chapter 576 - 576: Complete Transformation

「About two hours later.」

"It hurts so much."

Jiang Xinghai finally couldn't hold back a cry of pain. Large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, soaking the ground below.

Immediately after, a vast aura began to emanate from his body.

The Great Perfection of the late-stage Celestial Destiny Realm!

Jiang Xinghai was shaken. He hadn't expected the effects of the Blood Soul Pill to be so potent.

Furthermore, he hadn't even managed to refine a third of the Primordial Yin Power within him. It failed to regulate his meridians, leaving him in constant pain.

Fortunately, he had achieved his goal of reaching the Great Perfection of the late stage.

However, his ambitions didn't stop there.

With two-thirds of the Primordial Yin Power still inside him, his goal for this session was to ascend to the Human Emperor Realm!

Half of the Blood Soul Pill's power was still left.

The pain was so profound that his entire body began to go numb.

He bit his lip hard, refusing to cry out.

This agony lasted until three in the morning!

Finally, he faintly felt a suction from his lower abdomen.

It seemed his Primordial Yin Power had finally begun to be absorbed!

In the next moment, the pain wracking his body gradually faded.

Meanwhile, his skin was coated in a layer of fine, bloody beads. From a distance, it looked as if his entire body was cracking and bleeding.

At this moment, he seemed suffused with vital energy, like a blood-colored deity—sacred and inviolable.

Although the pain had completely vanished, Jiang Xinghai now felt a burning sensation.

It wasn't painful. It just felt as though his blood vessels were on fire, and the sensation of a million ants gnawing at him made his whole body itch.

He could endure the itching.

'My only worry is... will my blood be burned off and evaporated?'

'Perhaps this is just a normal part of breaking through to the Human Emperor Realm!'

Reassuring himself with this thought, Jiang Xinghai kept a part of his focus on his body as he continued to cultivate.

By dawn, the beads of blood on Jiang Xinghai's body had formed a hard crust!

As the morning sun streamed through the window and shone upon Jiang Xinghai, the bloody crust on his body began to glisten. It became so exquisitely translucent that one could faintly perceive the muscles and bones underneath with the naked eye!

"I see now. The Human Emperor Realm is a complete rebirth!"

While cultivating, Jiang Xinghai had also devoted a part of his mind to recalling the cultivation insights his master, Yao Gu, had left him. This put his heart at ease.

The Human Emperor Realm was comparable to the legendary Earth Immortals!

It was no exaggeration to call this level of cultivation a complete rebirth!

Having reached this understanding, Jiang Xinghai withdrew all his external focus and threw himself wholeheartedly into cultivation.

「At the same time.」

In the next room, Sun Zhen, who was also cultivating, had already taken five Gathering Essence Pills.

The same changes involving the blood beads were occurring on his skin, just on a scale so minuscule it was almost unnoticeable.

Although the changes to his body were also a precursor to a complete rebirth, every person's constitution, aptitude, and talent are different.

Therefore, their cultivation speeds naturally differed.

His promise to Jiang Xinghai to reach the Human Emperor Realm within seven days showed he was well aware of his own limitations.

Jiang Xinghai, in contrast, was already undergoing a profound transformation after just one night of secluded cultivation.

「Meanwhile.」

On Cui Mountain Island, seventy nautical miles off the coast of Shanghai.

"Father-in-law, it's already ten in the morning, and Jiang Xinghai still hasn't shown up."

Zheng Wuji had rushed to Cui Mountain Island early in the morning to meet with his father-in-law, Cao Shan.

This was all for the plan they made yesterday: to feign a warm welcome for Jiang Xinghai, then lead him on a tour of the islands controlled by the Cao Family, one by one.

"Exactly. For all his big talk yesterday about visiting this morning, he hasn't even shown up!"

Cao Shan's face darkened as he stared out at the rolling waves. "Don't tell me he's just toying with us!"

"If that's the case, where are we supposed to find him?" Zheng Wuji also looked crestfallen.

The ultimate reason, of course, was that both of them coveted Jiang Xinghai's Gathering Essence Pills!

Yesterday afternoon, the two of them had failed to stop Jiang Xinghai and his people, and had even gotten thrashed in the process.

Their plan had been perfectly arranged, yet there was still no sign of Jiang Xinghai.

"Let's keep waiting. It's only ten in the morning, no need to rush."

Cao Shan settled back into his Grandmaster's Chair, watching the distant waves and resting his eyes.

Seeing this, Zheng Wuji could only follow suit, sitting dejectedly to one side and taking a hard drag from his cigarette.

RING RING RING!

Suddenly, a satellite phone beside Cao Shan began to ring.

"Father!"

Cao Shan shot up from his Grandmaster's Chair and immediately answered the call. "Father, is everything going well on your end?"

"The Saint Monk of the Great Zen Temple... has passed away."

The voice of Cao Qing, Shanghai's Prince of the East, was filled with regret. "I was a step too late. If only I'd arrived three days earlier, I could have met him one last time."

"This..." Cao Shan's heart sank upon hearing the news.

The second option for treating his grandson, Cao Can, had just gone up in smoke.

"However, an old friend informed me that the new three-star general at Marshal Feng's ceremony in Shanghai tomorrow is a peerless Divine Doctor. With his help, Can'Er will surely be cured." Cao Qing's words were filled with boundless hope.

"Is that so? That's wonderful news!" Cao Shan was also incredibly excited.

'Who would have thought! The new three-star general he'd been trying to investigate is actually a Divine Doctor!'

'No wonder he could receive an unprecedented promotion from a mere commoner to a three-star general!'

'That must be a first in all of history!'

"Your mission now," Cao Qing said in a cold voice, "is to find that Divine Doctor by any means necessary. Do you understand? You absolutely must not be disrespectful!"

"Rest assured, Father, I understand!" Of course, Cao Shan wouldn't dare to be careless.

The man was not only the Divine Doctor who could save his grandson, but also a bona fide three-star general, equal in status to his own father. How could he dare to show any disrespect?

"I'll return to Shanghai by tomorrow at the latest. Since I'm in the Imperial City, I should go see a few old friends. That's all." With that, Cao Qing hung up.

Cao Shan immediately burst out laughing. "Wuji, you heard that, didn't you!"

"I heard, I heard!"

Zheng Wuji had been right beside him, and since Cao Shan hadn't tried to hide the conversation, he had naturally heard everything.

"To think that the new three-star general is a Divine Doctor, and the person with the best hope of saving Can'Er! This is truly a great blessing for our Cao Family!" Cao Shan roared with laughter, his voice echoing far and wide.

This was without a doubt the happiest news he'd received in ages!

As long as his grandson Cao Can's heart was healed, his legendary Overlord Body would bring the Cao Family at least a hundred years of glory!

The Overlord Body!

In the entire Dragon Country, there were probably no more than three people who possessed it!

This was the very reason the Cao Family was so desperate to save Cao Can!

"Congratulations, Father-in-law!"

Zheng Wuji was also beaming. As the Cao Family grew stronger, his own status would naturally rise with it!

"However, that Jiang Xinghai... I still can't put him out of my mind."

After his bout of laughter, Cao Shan thought again of Jiang Xinghai and his Gathering Essence Pills, and couldn't help but feel a sharp pang of regret.

「At that very moment—」

"I've finally succeeded."

In the hotel room, Jiang Xinghai's tightly shut eyes snapped open, a sharp glint flashing within them.

After sixteen hours, he had finally broken through from the late-stage Celestial Destiny Realm into the early-stage Human Emperor Realm!